


The Master Returns

by Aladayle



Series: Rarest Pet Saga [2]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Blackmail, Blood, Blood and Injury, Cell has a thing for lizard ass, Character Death, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Fear, Fingerfucking, Flashbacks, Frieza Is Not Playing Around, Going to Hell, He's being creepy, Rape/Non-con Elements, Series continuance, This begins after Battle of Gods, Threats, and manipulative, hints at past trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2019-09-16 06:03:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16948383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aladayle/pseuds/Aladayle
Summary: Kale has spent years embroiled in therapy and medication to stave off troublesome symptoms and hallucinations. And for a time, she has been happy--enough. But one little space-skype call is all it takes to remind her that some things never really die...





	1. Deadnaming

### Deadnaming

The day the sky turned black, Kale was training again. 

Since Lord Beerus's appearance, Vegeta was often gone, training with his instructor Whis for long periods. Now and again, Kale went along with him, but considering Marron she could never stay for very long. So instead, when he wasn't around and she couldn't spare the time, Bulma would let her use the gravity chamber. 

Super saiyan had been one thing, but this, this was quite another thing entirely. 

It had taken so long to attain the strength necessary for it, and even longer to persuade Vegeta to teach her how to attain Super Saiyan God for herself. 

_Focus_ , she thought, _You need to focus_. 

Kale shut her eyes, and powered up--first to Super Saiyan. She cringed, but only briefly. No, no, he had helped her get this, but it was _hers_ , and his memory wouldn't keep her from it. 

A push... 

It was supposed to be "god" form, and the internal high of crossing the barrier into it was appropriately divine. Nothing could touch her again, not while she had this. 

Now came the tricky part. 

Higher, and higher still. 

* * *

Four months ticked by, slow as a snail, but every day it felt to Kale like she was gaining better control over this power. It would still do her good to have a session with Vegeta, test it out properly, but that had to wait until at least the weekend... 

"How was training, mama?" 

Marron's comment as she got off the school bus woke Kale from her thoughts, and she reached out to hug her little girl. 

"It was nice, Marron. I'm just learning to get stronger." 

"Like Mr. Vegeta?" 

"Yes, like Mr. Vegeta." 

Kale held her hand and started to head back down the sidewalk to their house. "And how was school?" 

"It was okay. A boy said I was dumb and I punched him." 

"Marron...we talked about this," Kale said, "You know you could really hurt someone that way." 

"I didn't hurt him a lot. His nose didn't even bleed. I made sure to punch him soft and on the shoulder." 

Shaking head. This girl, sometimes... 

"And he said it hurt and I said to leave me alone or I would do it again." 

"Did he leave you alone after that?" 

"Yeah...is papa home yet?" Marron changed the subject suddenly. 

"No, unfortunately not," Kale replied, "But I'm sure he'll want to hear about this boy you punched." 

"But he deserved it! You don't have to tell papa, really." 

"You know I'll have to, Marron. Your papa and I don't keep secrets from one another. If you want to fight someone, maybe we should go visit Goten and Trunks more often." 

"I don't like them." 

"Why not?" 

"They're boys and they're _gross_. They dig up worms and the last time we went over Trunks ate one because Goten dared him to." 

"One would think they're a little too old for that." 

"Yeah..." 

Marron got on her homework just a few minutes after they got through the front door; some friend or the other of hers--Kale could never remember her name--had dance class, and had convinced Marron to take it with her. By three she was done with the work, and by three-thirty the friend's mother showed up to take the both of them off to the class in question. 

That left Kale alone, for at least another two hours, possibly longer if dinner was gotten while they were out. 

She headed into the bedroom with a glass of water, intending to have a nap--but was thwarted by the pinging of the computer console in the corner. 

Huh. 

"Kuriza, I thought you were busy today," she said under her breath. She sat down with the water and her end-of-day medication dose, and turned the console's screen on. That was definitely Kuriza's call. Maybe he wanted to talk about something or the other, one could never tell with him... 

_ACCEPT CALL_

Kale didn't panic when she saw Frieza's first-form face on the console screen. "It's too early in the day for this nonsense, Kuriza. It's not funny." 

The creeping, cold feeling didn't even appear when he spoke. 

"I think it's hilarious." 

"You're a hallucination," she said candidly. "You're not really there." 

"Far from it, my dear," came the smirking reply, "And even if I were, why would you want to wipe my visage from your sight?" 

"I'm going to have to up my dosage if this keeps happening." She looked away from the screen, and down at her phone, "There goes my appetite." 

She looked back up several minutes later. 

The call time was still running, and Frieza was still there. 

_Alright, maybe it's slow. It takes time to work..._

She refused to believe that he was alive again. It was impossible--some Arcosian soldier of Kuriza's must have just been having a joke by transforming into Frieza. But if that were the case...then why would they be contacting her? 

The cold feeling began to creep up her spine, but she bit her tongue and tried to steel herself. She had the god form now. She was _safe_. He couldn't hurt her again. 

"Goku's dead," she blurted out, "There's no good reason for you to be coming here." 

"On the contrary," Frieza replied, that smirk still spread half across his face, "There is plenty for me there, and though you are part of that plenty, there's something I need more than a warm place to spend the night. And you're going to give it to me, when I get there in...oh, I think, about an hour." 

"And what is it you think you're going to get?" 

"Oh, Calla, such defiance...how you _wound_ me. What I want is very simple," he said, "I want the location of New Namek."


	2. Doe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieza's ship approaches Earth, and Krillin tries to tell Kale that things will be fine.

### Sided

*In Hell, Previously* 

_My name is Frieza, and I am the last thing you will ever see_. 

He had to remember that. 

He _**had to**_. 

_My name is Frieza, and I am the last thing you will ever see_. 

Cell was on him, rutting away, and then suddenly--wasn't. He had finished, and was withdrawing. He stood up, gave Frieza a kick in the ribs, and then flew off. 

Leaving him alone. 

"My name is Frieza, and..." 

A shudder tore through his body, and his eyes stung. 

No. No, he was the mighty Frieza. Men like him were never hurt, men like him were never violated--not like this. 

And above all, men like him never stooped so low as to _cry_. Seven years he had endured this, and seven years he had been biting his tongue and clenching his fists to the point of drawing blood. They all watched him, they all wanted him to cry. They wanted to see him weak. They wanted... 

They would laugh at him, if he showed any hint of despair or agony. None of them would help him, and he would not reward that sin by giving them something they wanted. 

...something else. He had to think of something else. 

Something that made him feel powerful again, something beneath him, that he could look down on. 

_Her_. 

When things were at their worst, after Cell fucked him senseless, fucked him raw, he always ended up tormenting the weaker denizens of hell and thinking of Kale. She was the reason he was here, but if he was there, in person, she would not dare to defy him. 

As Frieza cracked bones and spilled blood, he thought of getting her back on her knees, where she belonged. He thought of making her call his name out, of making her shave her head again, of taking everything that was hers and replacing it as he pleased. 

As some of the swifter victims tattled to the idiots in "Hell" shirts, Frieza thought of that period where he had inhabited her body. Afraid as she was, she had submitted, body and mind--almost desperately. She clung to him, she hid behind him--and, in some deep, lucid dream, where they were truly alone--she had said it. 

"I need you." 

Yes, that was from a normal time. A better time. 

The _right_ time. 

She had said it so desperately in that broken state... 

..and she would, he told himself, she would say it again. 

It was never long after this point that he was sent to what they called "solitary confinement," which was no more than being strung up in a cocoon, in a tree. They would chase him tirelessly, and finally catch him--then they would put him in there for some arbitrary amount of time. And so he hung there now, again. 

And though he raged and fought against it, and screamed internally at the sound of such devilish laughter and merriment, he held to the thought of her, and the phrase that had been his rock. 

My name is Frieza, and I am the last thing you will ever see. 

And then in what had seemed like the blink of an eye, he was not in that solitary hell, but looking out past glass. 

* * *

*Present Day* 

"Sorbet?" 

"Yes, my lord?" 

"Is Captain Ginyu still secured?" 

"Yes, my lord. Ki cuffs on wrists and ankles alike. He is not going anywhere." 

"A pity he tried to stop you," Frieza replied quietly. "Even more so that you did not spot his attempts at deflecting you sooner." 

"I am sorry, but...he was Captain Ginyu, and we thought that since you had always trusted him, that we could as well. I am sorry that it took so long to find that he was not worth that trust. At the very least, we managed to delay him with your son while we came here those months ago for the dragonballs." 

"Should any more minions come out of nowhere, claiming to want to serve, be sure to check their information before you accept their help. That form of his is strong. If he had not gained the wretched sentimentality of the monkey and his Earthling friends, he may have been the valuable ally that we needed. Instead...he has only disappointed us." 

"I wonder still why he did not simply sabotage the regeneration tank, or destroy the pieces of you that we brought back." 

"Who can know the mind of a traitor? Either way, he will certainly never see freedom again. He has been quite useful as a training device..." 

"And what about your son?" 

"I will deal with him myself, once I return to Arcos." Frieza replied shortly. 

But by then, he would not need the brat. 

Son Goku was dead, and there was only the prince and the pet to deal with. 

* * *

_Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz_

"Kale, I think you need to stay here," Krillin said. Locks of his hair were falling onto his shoulders, onto the floor, but it was not them he looked at in the mirror. 

"I know you've faced him before," she said quietly, "And Bulma told you he had a thousand men. Do you really think you and the others can handle all of them?" 

"We can handle Frieza's grunts. We've done it before." 

"And Frieza himself?" 

"Vegeta and Piccolo haven't wasted time in keeping themselves strong. Vegeta has the god form, and as for Gohan--" 

"Gohan fights a young woman whose dearest wish is to see him without that pretty purple gi of his," Kale replied, "He can fight, sure, but you can't rely on just the three of them." 

"I'm not going to ask you to face him again," Krillin said. 

"You aren't asking me, I'm offering." 

"You shouldn't have to face him. Besides, we have all we need. Piccolo, Gohan, Vegeta..." 

She was looking right at herself in the mirror; her eyes widened and Krillin saw the expression. 

"He has a thousand men," Kale replied. She dusted him off with shaking hands when she finished shaving him. "And Vegeta isn't--" 

"I need to go meet everyone else." 

"Krillin, listen to me, Vegeta isn't--" 

"We'll take care of it, and you won't have to even look at him." 

He was out the door before she could say any more about what she'd realized just a few moments ago. 

Before she could tell him that Vegeta wasn't on the planet.


	3. Who Holds The Leash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Always white as a ghost Frieza was, and twice as frightening. And now, he's back to haunt her in the flesh.

### Who Holds The Leash

Where was that armor? She knew she still had it. The underarmor suit, in some trunk or the other. 

Bulma had several pairs made for her each year--they were generally a necessity for her trips to see Whis. She couldn't make too many, but, when she could, she would... 

Ah! Yes. 

She pulled from the back-most corner of the closet the chest-plate, sans shoulder pads. And flat beneath it, the underarmor suit... 

...of the kind with shorts. 

"It doesn't matter," she said, "So he'll see your legs. It doesn't matter." 

* * *

"She's not going to give you what you want." 

Ginyu didn't look up at Frieza, who was standing outside his cell, but he spoke anyway. 

"You are awfully mouthy for a traitor," Frieza said; he too was refusing to look back. "And awfully sure of how she will react." 

"She's going to fight you." 

"I know that." Frieza smirked. "I expect nothing less from my Calla." 

"Her name is KALE," Ginyu forced out, shaking as he spoke. "Kale, not Calla." 

"And very brave you are for telling me that from inside a cell," Frieza replied. 

Silence. 

"You're so eager to speak out against what I do when you've got nothing more to lose, aren't you? Where was this when you still served me? Where was this when she came to you in tears night after night?" 

Silence, still. 

"That's what I thought." Frieza smirked. "I would like to ask one thing before I go, you know." 

"What's that?" 

"Why did you betray me? I gave you the one thing you wanted, my Calla's body--for a night. And you betrayed me, when you thought you had nothing to lose. You could have been at my side again, as you always were. You could have had your crew back. Your title. And you threw it all away for the love of someone who would never return it." 

"She could have loved me," Ginyu said miserably. 

"Could have. But she didn't. She didn't, and she won't, and she never will. How d--" 

Hands. Arm, throat. 

Quick as a flash, Ginyu stuck both arms through the bars. One as wrapped around the back of Frieza's neck and pushed forward. The forearm of the second was pressed against his pale white throat, and then there was a squeeze-- 

\--there was only restraint for a moment, but Frieza flailed until he got free and then whipped around to send a pinhole-sized ki beam through a shoulder. 

Wide-eyed, and shaking, he looked Ginyu in the face. 

"I don't have the time to punish you properly right now," Frieza seethed for a moment, and then stepped forward. "When I bring her back...when I have brought her to heel, I'll take her here, to see you." 

He sent another beam forward, this time in the opposite shoulder, and a scream burst out from Ginyu's lips. 

"You think what I'm doing now is painful? You think it's agony?" Frieza smirked, and sent another beam. "When I tell my dear little Calla that you helped bring me back to power...I imagine she'll be very angry with you. The fact that it's a lie won't matter. She'll believe what I tell her, and _oh_ , the things I will tell her..." 

Another blast. Another scream. 

"...and my Calla," he said with a sparkling eye as he shot one more blast, "Does not deal gently with traitors." 

* * *

If you go, you're doing exactly what he wants. 

Kale took a deep breath, and reached for the bottle of pills. Taking them double was not a good idea--it never was, but she was late for her afternoon dose and eager to avoid having to look into those red eyes. 

But you have to do that anyway, she told herself. He's coming, and Goku's not here. Vegeta's not here. 

There's no one here to save you. 

No one _can_ save you. 

"You can fight him," Kale said aloud, "You have the god form. You're _safe_." 

She clenched her shaking fist. 

It was easy to be brave, easy to say that he no longer affected her--easy until now, that is. Before, there was not even a chance that he would come back, so long as she kept swallowing those pills. Three pills a day, and his ghost left her be. 

But now he'd risen from the grave and no pill in the universe would make him go away. 

* * *

"...what is up with that tracksuit?" Krillin asked. 

"Well, you know how it is. I didn't really have time to change out of it." 

"Does Borea make you wear that to train in?" 

"I do not," Borea chimed in, "He thinks it's easier to clean when he bleeds on it." 

"Isn't that his mother's job?" Krillin asked. "You signing up to be his mum?" 

"Is Goku not here?" 

Silence from the small crowd, deathly silence--for a moment. 

Then Krillin spoke up. "He died years ago. I know you know that." 

"Do your dragonballs not work?" 

"They can't bring people back if they died of disease." 

"Duly noted." 

Frieza looked over the group in silence--but only for a few moments. "Is this really all Earth has to offer me? The leftovers and the weaklings?" 

Then he glanced in Borea's direction. 

The girl was taller, much taller, than he remembered, but then, she'd only been fifteen or so the last time he saw her. Gohan was fully grown, and yet Borea was at least a head above him. 

"You seem to have taken after my father," he observed. "A pity you had to be born with hair. You might have been valuable." 

"Is that why you came here? To insult us?" Gohan stepped ahead of Borea, arms crossed. "If you're going to fight us, fight us. We don't want to listen to your blustering." 

Instant sneer. Then a glare, and Frieza said, "How I speak to my child is none of your business, monkey." 

"I'm _making_ it my business." 

Anger turned to mirth. Frieza burst out laughing, and only after an uncomfortable silence from everyone else did he speak up again. "Isn't this precious...my enemy's son, and my daughter. Such a wretched cliche, don't you think? And where is your mother? Surely she disapproves." 

Borea gently nudged Gohan aside, moved forward, and looked at Frieza. "She doesn't care either way. Now whatever it is you're here for--" 

"I shall have to correct the issue...later." 

He looked up, almost searchingly, and muttered something to himself. 

Then he looked to Sorbet, as the soldiers floated in the air behind him, waiting for orders. 

"Relay this to them via your scouter," Frieza said, and he did not keep talking until he saw that Sorbet had hit the 'transmit audio' option on his own scouter. 

"Kill all of this group--save for my daughter. I will need her for when her mother shows up. When the female saiyan _does_ show up--if any man lays a hand on her without specific permission--he should consider himself dead on the spot." 

Sorbet looked up and saw the soldiers looking back. And then, more to feel as if he actually had a hand in this than anything else, he added, "You have your orders! GIVE THEM EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!" 

The soldiers moved forward, and the fighting began.


	4. Bend The Knee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle with Frieza's minions concludes, and Kale arrives.

### Bend The Knee

Frieza sat observing the battle, and glanced briefly at the one that had been a boy the last time they'd met. Gohan, he'd been called. He seemed to stick close to Borea, though that might have been nothing more than making sure there'd be no surprise attacks from behind. 

What had it been? He wondered that, with a bit of an angry touch. A half breed she might be, but she was still his own blood, and she had chosen to be friendly with the son of his enemy. But of course, he thought next, her mother likely hadn't thought anything of it. Or maybe she'd encouraged it, simply for the fun of angering him. 

"It doesn't matter," he said suddenly to himself. Borea wasn't the important one here anyway. He didn't need her. 

What he needed, more than anything, was for things to be the way they were. These vermin were only the preamble to getting it all back. 

But he watched them, nonetheless. 

Borea, punching out that minion. Gohan behind her, taking out two others. And the rest of the group, knocking down even more. He bore through it calmly. This was expected. 

"Our soldiers..." Sorbet, on the other hand, had not expected this and seemed almost terrified. "...they've taken them out so easily! How could they be so powerful?" 

"Their savior has died," Frieza said quietly, "I presume they have taken up the slack. And that brat of Goku's--he is capable of Super Saiyan, yet he is not using it. None of them are showing their full strengths here." 

"What, why?" 

"They're not attempting to kill their opponents. If you'll watch closely, their blows are deliberately non-lethal." 

Sorbet went quiet there, and watched with an increasing sense of alarm as the soldiers continued to fall, one after the other. 

And then, finally, the last. 

"Permission to join the battle," Shisami said, stepping forward. 

* * *

Kale took a deep breath. She'd felt Frieza's energy since he reached the planet. She'd tried not to go back to her pills a second time. Or had she already done that? 

"Calm the fuck down," she said aloud. She was nearly there, and he'd expect her to fall apart at the first. She couldn't do that. She just couldn't. 

But her hands were shaking at the thought of seeing him again--touching him, even to fight him. They'd fought once, and that... 

"No. I can handle this," she said. 

At a distance, Kale saw the ship on the ground, and felt, more precisely, where Frieza was. She took a deep breath--but then held it when his head snapped up, and turned to look at her. 

She got closer, and moved down toward the crowd of others, thinking they might make her feel safer. Might embolden her. 

After all... 

...with Vegeta gone, this was all going to be on her shoulders. 

* * *

Krillin looked up in shock as Kale descended in front of him. 

"I told you we could handle it," he said, "You're not--you don't have to--" 

"I had to," she replied, "And leave you all to this?" 

"We've got Vegeta," Borea piped up, "And Gohan, and me. You could've stayed back, no one asked you to come." 

"I'm not staying behind like some defenseless waif," Kale said, "I came here to help." 

"But what about Marron?" Krillin asked. 

"She's with a friend. It's fine." 

"But--" 

"We don't have Vegeta," Kale said quickly, before anyone else could protest further, "Do you think I showed up here for no reason? He's off training with Whis." 

"Bulma tried to call him," Krillin said suddenly, "She told me that when she called me. He should be here--" 

A throat cleared. 

Frieza's throat. 

Kale tensed every muscle in her body, and turned to look at him. 

He was smiling. That little smile he'd given her so many times before, when she had either been backed into a corner or was doing something he approved of. Which it was now, she couldn't tell. 

"My dear Calla, I thought you might never arrive. This whole affair has been terribly dull without you, you know." 

"You should leave," Kale forced out. 

"Why would I do that? Goku is dead. Vegeta appears to be nowhere in sight. It seems to me that the wisest course of action would be to stay, and wrap up this little situation." 

She didn't answer. 

"Come now, none of you can match me," Frieza replied. He noted the glares he was getting from them all--Gohan in particular. "Don't give me the evil eye like that--you all know it's true. To attack me would be suicide...and surely you're smarter than that." 

"Leave. Now," Gohan said. "And maybe we'll let you live." 

"I have a counter-offer," Frieza said. He hopped out of his pod, and, hovering, moved towards the group. "One I think you will all agree is sensible." 

"And what's that?" 

"Give me th--" 

Kale could take the agony of waiting no longer, and launched herself at him, fist first. He was struck back, and a bit of blood leaked from his nose, but that only made him laugh. 

"So my pet wants to make me earn it, does she? Fine. Fine, I will give you what you seem so desperately to want. Come, pet, let's see how long you can last." 

* * *

It was what he'd wanted, above all, and oh, she was just as eager to deliver it to him. She might not know it yet, but she was giving him every bit of the relief he'd sought. 

Of course she wanted to fight him, of course she did. His Calla would crumble, but first he had to let her show this little inkling of rebellion. All he had to do was strike it down in his way, and everything would be as it should. 

"Don't hold back," he winked, once he had moved far enough back that the others couldn't see their faces. 

"I don't plan to," Kale snarled.


	5. Hands Of Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight begins in earnest, and Kale discovers a weakness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a multipart fight, obviously. There's too much to unpack (at least for now) to do it all in one chapter.
> 
> Sorry for the bad fight scene/s.

### Hands Of Gold

Kale wasn't sure what was going on in her head at the moment. 

She expected fear, terror, the desire to crawl home and cry...but there was nothing. 

Just silence. 

When Frieza leapt at her, she dodged, turning to strike at his back. But he twisted almost as soon as she got close enough to swing, grabbed her by the forearm, and swung her overhead. 

Kale stopped herself and jetted back down, just in time to avoid an upward kick. 

"I missed this," he called out, moving down to strike again. 

"Having a punching bag, you mean," Kale spat out, "You aren't going to win here. Give up now." 

They flew back, away from each other, and then jetted forward, together again. One punch, a second, a third-- 

\--until one finally connected. Her fist slammed into his jaw, and her eyes flashed. She charged a quick ki beam and fired. 

Frieza took it, easily, and smirking, said, "Quit playing around." 

"I'm NOT playing around," Kale growled, "Now--" 

She flew forward in a rage, fist aimed; he caught it, and squeezed, holding her fist over her head. 

Her body, still in motion crashed forward against his. And though she tried to separate herself, his tail wrapped swiftly around her waist and held her there. 

"Stop holding back, pet," Frieza whispered in a honey-sweet tone, "You want me to earn you, don't you?" 

"Let go," Kale struggled, even more so when he let go of her fist. "Let go!" 

"Promise me you'll stop holding back." 

"Fine, I--" 

Frieza put a hand on one side of her face, turning her gaze toward him, and gave a soft smile. "Promise me, pet." 

She quailed, meeting his eyes so close, feeling his hand on her face, smelling the wine on his breath--and had to bite her tongue. A shock of pain was what she needed, she couldn't look away from him, that would show the weakness he wanted. 

"Fine. Fine, I will." 

"Good." 

His tail moved away, and she slowly flew down to the ground. Frieza followed her, standing ten or twenty feet away. 

"I felt the glow myself, you know, that super saiyan power. As I recall, I helped you to obtain it." he said, spreading his arms, "I am not an unfair man, you know. I will hold myself to the same standard as you." 

"Kale!" came a sudden shout. 

She looked back. That sounded like Bulma...yes, it _was_ Bulma! 

"You have to keep him busy!" the shout went on, "Vegeta's on his way but it'll take 35 minutes." 

She could fight him, surely, but--no, Kale thought. I can defeat him. There's no question of merely delaying things, of buying time. I have to defeat him. 

Deep breath. Deep breath. 

She didn't answer Bulma, but as she looked away from the woman, her eyes met Krillin's, and lingered painfully. 

Then she looked back to Frieza. There was an outcry, and suddenly, his power began to skyrocket. 

The ground shook, and cracked, shifting and rising around him. His aura flared, blinding, bright-- 

\--she raised her arm to shield her eyes, as did everyone else. 

Then a few moments later, the glare eased up, and they could all look at him. 

"I know it is a bit gauche," Frieza said, not letting his eyes leave Kale's, "But I wanted to ensure everyone knew I was back on top." 

The smirk widened. 

"Now come on, power up so we can match." 

"I'm afraid we'll have to clash," Kale replied, "The last time we met, we would've. Now..." 

"You can't seriously expect to fight me like that." 

"You think I want to lose?" 

She didn't give Frieza a chance to quip back, and shut her eyes. The power, it came to her--slowly at first, but then it surged into a rapid life. 

Red...red, first, that sweet feeling of divinity. 

She was safe. 

"What is this, then?" 

"I'm not done yet." 

She screamed, and the power went up, up, and up again...and the shades of red were soon replaced with those of blue. 

"So you dyed your hair to stay different, is that it?" Frieza asked, "What is this?" 

"A little something called Super Saiyan God," she smirked. Yes, yes, this power would be enough. More than enough. She knew him, she knew how he fought, his moves, everything--almost as well as he knew it all himself. 

She was safe. 

Frieza gave a laugh, and then said, "Well, well, well, my pet has gotten hold of serious power. That will make breaking you in again so much more delectable." 

"I'm not being broken again," Kale replied, growling, " _Never_ again." 

"Never?" Frieza said. He smirked, flashing those wicked red eyes at her, and said in a tone low and dangerous, "My dear, I am going to make you choke on those words." 

Her hands were shaking, but she leaped at him again. 

One strike, a ki blast. She kept her eyes locked to his--he pulled her close, gave her a savage blow to the gut. 

Spitting away the blood in her mouth, she hit back, and landed a punch on his jaw. 

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" he said, striking at her himself; he narrowly missed, but didn't seem angry. "Aren't you glad?" 

She pulled back, and sent a volley of ki beams at him. 

"Shut your--" the blasts kept going, "--arrogant little mouth!" 

Then, behind her, so close she could feel his breath on her ear came, "So many things you seem to have forgotten..." 

Kale whipped around, fists clenching so hard she was drawing blood. She flew up above him, radiating hatred, and seething, "I've never forgotten what you've done." 

"Then show me how angry it makes you, if you're able." 

She knew what he was doing. She knew him too well to _not_ know what he was doing. 

And though it was surely the reaction he wanted, the idea of shutting him up was too tempting not to give him what he wanted. 

Kale then shot rapidly down, driving the heel of her boot right into his cheek--and he fell straight back down to the ground. She landed a short distance behind him, and moved forward quickly. 

He seemed almost to be laughing to himself, there on his hands and knees, until the second she grabbed his tail and began to pull. His face hit the dirt and-- 

Frieza whipped around, tugged his tail from her grip, and scrambled backwards, eyes wide with--fear?--and quickly got to his feet. 

Then the look turned to the wild anger she knew him so well for. 

"If you _ever_ touch me like that again, I will grind you so far down that they'll be making oil from your remains," Frieza seethed. 

"Come and prove it, then," Kale smirked, striking a fighting stance. 

He'd been afraid of her, if only for a moment, and she hungered for more of it.


	6. One Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieza gives Kale five minutes to beat him, and makes a little threat to incentivize her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know that I'd call it mood music, but I've been listening to this a lot while writing this chapter:
> 
>  
> 
> Miracle of Sound - Joker's Song  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OovKTBO4aQs
> 
>  
> 
> Maybe more of an insight as to how Frieza sees the situation with his "pet".

### One Question

Ten minutes down. 

Twenty-five to go. 

Heart hammering, head pounding. 

That was all she needed. Just wear him down, just buy time. When Vegeta arrived, Frieza would be well worn out, and then defeated easily. 

And she'd be safe. 

Safe again. 

She shut her eyes, and took a deep breath. 

"Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to hit me?" Frieza asked. 

She was just glad they were so high up, and that no one could hear them. 

Then she clenched her fist, hard enough to draw blood. 

"You've dreamed of this moment, haven't you," came that soft tone he used to use when he wanted something, "Years of thinking about beating me down, making me scream, taking your pound of flesh and then some..." 

"That doesn't matter." 

"You don't have to say it. I've been inside your head. I know what you want." He lifted a finger and traced his lower lip slowly, "Your fears, your hatreds, your wants, they all revolve around me in some form or another. Make him stop, make him bleed, make him powerless before me." 

"You will be powerless, once I mop the floor with your face." 

"Oh, so tough." 

Kale launched at him, and he dodged to the side--but she managed to grab his tail, and swing him over her head and then down to the ground. 

He hit, hard, and he was barely on his hands and knees when she landed on his back, one boot on his back and the other pressed against the back of his head, forcing his face into the dirt. 

Then all hell broke loose. 

Frieza struggled, struggled madly, screaming at her to get up, to get off him, she'd made her point. His tail lashed up as she was lifting her foot to give him a good kick, and she was knocked aside. 

He got to his feet, and Kale was almost...puzzled. There was anger, that she had expected, but for a split second before that anger there'd been mortal fear. 

Then she looked down, and if she hadn't been so afraid herself, she'd have laughed. 

His tail was between his legs. 

She knew that stance. Wide eyes, keeping one's face to the danger, a position of utter terror-- 

! 

"Who fucked you in hell?" Kale couldn't stop the words. 

"Nobody _fucked_ me, you stupid bitch," Frieza sneered, "And if you say those words again--" 

Every word out of his mouth, every movement of his body, only confirmed it more. 

"Somebody did, or you wouldn't be so scared," Kale said, "You can't lie to me, not on this." 

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you!" 

"Somebody fucked you," she said quietly, and then her tone lifted into that of realization, "I know why you're here for me now. You think if you put me back in my place, get things the way they were, you'll be able to forget it all." 

"You _dare_ \--" 

"Let me let you in on a little secret," she said, "You're never going to forget him, whoever he was. Not his face, not the feeling of being scared and on your knees, not the smell, the taste of him. Never." 

She expected he might do anything, but she wasn't ready for nothing. 

After a few moments of teeth-clenching, and menacing looks, Frieza returned to his cold calm. 

"If you insist on mocking me," he said cuttingly, "Then I'm going to make you regret it." 

Kale clenched her fist, but didn't answer. 

"But I'm feeling generous...so here's what you get. You get five minutes to defeat me." 

"Five minutes, and then what?" 

"And then I ask you a question that will tear you down and put you back where you belong." 

That smirk, that same smirk he'd used the first time he had her on her knees. The same smirk he'd had when she finally gave in to him. 

The smirk that she'd been forced to make her friend, in later years. 

"Fine," Kale said, "I'll beat the shit out of you before you can ask this question, then." 

Twenty minutes to go. 

One punch, two, three, four--then, she couldn't even count anymore. His face--she wanted it bruised, bloody, swollen, pained. She threw him skyward, and punched again; his gut was hit hard a moment later. Frieza retched blood, and drops of it dotted all over her face and neck. 

"I am going to BREAK YOU!" he screamed, and he struck out with his tail. 

She dodged, grabbed it, but he kicked at her hard enough to loosen her grip, and lash her in the face. 

Kale charged a ki beam, blasted it at him--first one, then three or four more. _If only I could get the time to charge one up more, really do some damage..!_

He took them straight on, and shot a few of his own at her. When she dodged, he brought his fist back; Kale brought her own up to block. 

Then he swung--not straight on, but from the side, clocking her hard. 

Everything was pain, but then it was all ringing. Kale fell back as her vision swam. His lips were moving, but-- 

\--still, she kept her fists moving. 

By the time her ears stopped ringing, she was breathing hard. No, no, she wasn't done yet, nowhere near yet. Five minutes or no... 

"You've failed, Cal _la_..." 

His tone was sing-song. Devious. 

Almost _happy_. 

He backhanded her, and she fell--down and down and down, until she struck the ground hard, on her back. 

Frieza landed three feet away, and stepped forward. Then he placed a foot on her chest, and smirked down at her. 

"That question you wanted to ask," Kale spat, "What was it?" 

"It's this." 

Frieza looked so smug, so self-satisfied, so pleased with himself as he spoke again. 

"If you hated me so much, wanted me gone from your mind so badly..." 

His foot pressed down. 

"...why haven't you gone to your dragon and wished me to be erased from your memory?"


	7. Room 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieza attempts more manipulation, and moves in for the kill.

### Room 101

"The dragon wouldn't grant that wish," Kale said quickly, "He--his power can't affect anyone stronger than him." 

"But did you even try?" Frieza asked. "Did you even ask him if it were possible?" 

Silence. But she did struggle. 

He floated up, and back, coming down again with his feet over both her femurs. 

"I broke one of these bones once before, pet, and I will do it again if you continue to be foolish," Frieza said coldly. "Both, if you insist on being insolent." 

Silence, and then she lay still. 

"Good girl," he went on, "If only we were alone...I would show you _exactly_ how angry I am..." 

"But we aren't," Kale replied quietly. 

"No! No, we have a whole crowd watching us. Including..." he cast a glare at the ring that sparkled on her left hand, "...including that weakling you bound yourself to." 

A pause. 

Frieza looked up, and away, in the direction of the others. "Now, that is a thought..." 

He got off of her, and motioned for her to get up--which she did, quickly. 

"We are going to make this very easy, Calla, my dear." His tone was saccharine-sweet; and there was a smile on his face. Too wide to be genuine. 

Kale squashed the inner protest before it could rise up and exit through her throat. 

"How?" 

"You will do as I say," he said happily, "Exactly as I say it, or I will be forced to take drastic measures." 

"I can still fight you," Kale snapped back, and she powered back up to prove it. 

"Yes, yes, and that is all very impressive, but...it's not you that's concerned here." 

"Who are you threatening? My husband? The green one? Gohan?" 

"Your daughter." 

"Borea can fend for herself, she is not a weakling--" 

" _Ohohohoho_..." 

Frieza laughed; and a chill went down Kale's spine. 

"No, no, no, my pet! The daughter you _actually_ care for." 

Her face paled, and she struggled for words, but Frieza cut in before she could say anything. 

"You kept that console all this time, to talk to my son. Did you really think that I would not trace it?" 

"She wasn't at home, how did you--?!" Kale's voice rose in pitch, in desperation, "You're bluffing." 

"She is such a chubby, happy little child, you know." 

Frieza's eyes locked with hers, and in a voice as cold as the grave, he added, "It would be a shame if something were to befall her at that other child's house. She had a pool in the back yard, I believe?" 

"You can't--" 

"More a pity that she is not fifteen years older. You are amusing enough, but one who has just come of age, those at nineteen...they are always the sweetest. And I imagine you have fed her many lines about handsome princes, and white knights, covered her eyes with rose-colored glasses. A red flag to such a girl would be just a flag. Think of the fun I could have, plucking a ripe fruit..." 

She rushed him--fist at the ready, punch connecting squarely with his jaw. But he took the punch, turned his head back, and laughed at her again. 

"Now that I have your attention...put your fist down." 

"I still say you're bluffing," she replied, teeth grinding. 

"Can you take that chance, my dear? Truly, can you?" 

The look in his eye moved her back. 

"Good girl, Calla. You see? If you play nice, so will I." 

She backed away a few steps. 

"There is no need to be afraid, my dear." He took a step forward, and Kale sidestepped. When this motion repeated, they fell into a slow circle. Both walked round, eyes never leaving the other. 

"Why?" she finally choked out. "Just...why? Why are you doing this?" 

"I want you back, my pet. I want things to be the way they were. I want..." his eyes strayed south, to her legs, and then swept slowly back up, "I want my companion back." 

"Calla is dead," Kale said. "That's not who I am." 

"No, I suppose not. Calla would not have bound herself to the first penniless weakling to look her way. Calla would have killed that entire group without a second thought. Calla would have laughed, and reveled in their suffering. You aren't her...yet." A pause. Then, he added, "Now listen to me very carefully, because I'm not going to let you stall any longer." 

"What do you want?" as she walked, she found herself looking across the gap at the others. 

If only she had more time... 

Frieza vanished. 

Then his breath drifted across Kale's ear, and she froze entirely. 

His arm slipped around her side, under her own arm, and his hand took her chin in an iron grip, forcing her gaze in the direction of the rest of the group. 

"Look at that little weakling you let fuck you. The one you have the audacity to call your husband." 

Kale shifted, tried to look away, but he wouldn't let her. 

"If you want your precious daughter to see tomorrow, you'll go over there and put a ki blast through his chest."


	8. Ten Minutes In Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wall cracked with each blow, but eventually, it must fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Flashbacks. Frieza is a manipulative fuck throwing shit at a wall to see what sticks

### Ten Minutes In Hell

Kale couldn't speak. 

She could barely breathe. 

Something in her pause, however, seemed to please Frieza. He had tried several things, but he still had one card left to play... 

"It doesn't matter if I kill him or not," he whispered in her ear, pressing close, tilting her head with the hand on her jaw so she'd feel his breath on her neck. "It doesn't matter if she dies or not. I can go to New Namek, and revive them." 

The chuckle sound off, and she was trembling half a second later. 

"Their deaths are meaningless." 

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Time, time, this was still passing the time. Vegeta would be here soon. He would succeed where she had failed. 

"Those vermin there, are meaningless." 

Every time Kale thought she'd gotten over one shock, he threw another out-- 

"I wonder what he would think, if he knew," he said a second later, "That the life of every man, woman, and child on Planet Namah...was meaningless." 

Kale stiffened, and her eyes opened on a different scene. 

* * *

*Namah, Years Ago* 

The Ginyu Force had been asked to accompany them, because as much as this was a planetary clearing, it was also a leisure trip. Frieza had looked forward to it immensely, and said as much to her as the ship made its final descent. 

"I wonder how many souvenirs your boys will get to take home, Captain," she said. "Isn't Burter fond of statuettes?" 

"Yes," Ginyu said quietly, "Though his collection is getting out of control." 

"Perhaps a tapestry this time," Frieza added, "I've heard the temple in the midst of the capital city has many of them. I'll let you and your boys go in there first. I'm sure there will be quite a lot worth collecting." 

"Personally, I would burn it all." 

"Of course you would, Calla, but we can't have all the fun ourselves, now can we?" 

"More fun in the streets anyway." 

"Let us go find a crowded one, then, and show them..." 

* * *

*Present Day* 

"...show them the meaning of terror." 

"Look at them run," the words came, soft, robotic, monotone, "Rats on a sinking ship." 

"Then have..." 

* * *

*Namah, Then* 

"...a bite, kitten." 

Her ki beams blasted out the bottom floor of one of the buildings nearby, and the entire structure collapsed, first down fast and then to the side, crushing a number of people and creating a horrifying chorus of screams. 

"Come, come, you can do better than that, can't you? You have a reputation to maintain, my dear!" 

Another blast, another building. More screams, and fleeing civilians. 

One man stepped out just in time to avoid the collapse, but was cut down by Frieza's death beam. 

She laughed, and he laughed; each feeding from the malice of the other. She continued carving a path of death through the streets, him at her side, encouraging, inflaming any show of bloodlust. 

"Look, look, Calla," he said, pointing to another civilian running for his life, "The fool thinks he can beat us on foot." 

"You can have this one," she replied, "I've taken so many already." 

"No, no, I insist, my dear. But if you want my input so badly..." 

They flew lower, chasing the man down an alley. He turned when he was back against the wall, eyes wide, fists clenched. 

Frieza floated, a hair's breadth behind Kale, who had landed and was walking slowly towards her victim. 

His arm slipped under her own when she lifted it to charge a ki beam on the tip of her finger. The beginnings of a death beam were forming in the same way as the ki beam on hers. 

"Take a breath," he whispered, pressing close, "Take it deep." 

She obeyed. 

* * *

*Now, Earth*

"Such a juicy little target, isn't he?" 

The ki beam, the death beam, one on top of the other, just as it had all those years ago. 

They were all frozen in fear, as far as he could see. Oh, the Namekian, he looked ready to fight, as did Goku's son, but they weren't moving. They were waiting to see how this played out. 

So be it, Frieza thought, let them ride that train of thought to their doom. 

He guided her hand, whispering the things he had whispered years ago, until her charging blast was aimed squarely at Krillin. 

If this did not break her, nothing would. 

"Now, pet," he went on, "Steady your hand, you want this to spear him through...steady, and--" 

Silence, one second. And then... 

Chaos. 

A blast struck just at their feet, sending them both sprawling against the dirt and rocks. There was a sudden ringing in Kale's ears, and the light of recognition came back into her eyes. 

She coughed, hacked, and nearly heaved from the dust, shaking as she realized she wasn't there, she hadn't gone back--she was here, HERE, not back there with him again! Not back there, where... 

...where... 

Dirt. Dirt, underneath her feet, not concrete. Sun overhead, no clouds. Her friends--not the Ginyu Force, but Gohan, Piccolo, and all the others. She was on Earth. 

"I'm on Earth," Kale said weakly, under her breath, "I'm on Earth, I'm not on Namah, I'm not, I'm not...!" 

Frieza stood, growling, charging his energy. "WHO THREW THAT?!" 

"You disgust me," said a gravelly voice overhead, "Preying on weakness because you're afraid to fight honestly." 

Sneering, angry, Frieza looked up, and snarled, "Vegeta."


	9. Life Sentence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieza's fight will soon come to an end, but Kale's has just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's going to get dark here.

### Life Sentence

"You always did have a knack for ruining my endeavors," Frieza snarled. "What do these earthlings matter to you?" 

He would deal with that whimpering mess on the ground later. Right now, Vegeta needed to be taught a lesson. 

"I don't have to justify myself to someone like you," Vegeta replied. 

"With the other monkey gone, I suppose you took up the mantle? Not hard for you, was it, getting to be the one on top again? The mighty Vegeta, strongest warrior on the planet! I know you better than you think." 

"Get to the point, Frieza," Vegeta's arms stayed crossed. "Kale, senzu bean. Before you pass out." 

It took a minute, but she (shakily) got to her feet. 

"I'm on Earth," she said, taking a deep breath. "I'm on Earth." 

Vegeta looked back to Frieza, and powered up. "Any final words before I send you to hell?" 

Frieza looked at Kale, who was slowly taking flight over that gap to . Her eyes were locked, it seemed, on that little bald man who called himself her husband. Her hope, probably. Perhaps she felt that if she got to him, it would all be alright. Her knight in shining armor would chase away the dark memories and she could forget she'd ever belonged to anyone else. 

_Not today_ , he thought, _No one walks away from me_. 

"A question, actually." He looked back at Vegeta. "How long does it take from the last wish before I can make another?" 

"A year," Vegeta replied. 

Frieza raised a hand, "I'd have asked about Namek, but you're not going to tell me about that, are you? In any case it would take quite some time to reach. But correct me if I'm wrong--it's been six months since I was wished back, correct?" 

Vegeta said nothing. 

"You didn't snarl, so I suppose you mean yes. That's good to know," Frieza went on, tone suddenly turning gleeful, "I would hate for this lesson to be a short one." 

Vegeta realized too late what was happening. Frieza's hand suddenly turned in Kale's direction. One death beam, a second, and then a third, fired off. 

The first tore through Kale's chest--she screamed, and blood began to pour out the wound in a flood. She held her left hand over it, but all that did was stain her hand. Breathing was painful, but she could still keep going. At least until the second shot hit her squarely between the shoulder blades. She breathed roughly, choked, and coughed. Blood came up and she coughed again to clear her throat, but that only made it worse--she looked down at her hand, as everything grew fainter, colder-- 

_No. No. Please, no, please..._

\--and then everything went black. 

Her body, limp, crashed to the ground. 

* * *

_GASP_

Kale's next breath was a deep one, and the second she opened her eyes, her heart was racing. Wait--wait, her heart. It was still beating. She was-- 

\--why were there clouds? What was this platform? Why were there people in front of her? And why were they all lined up out the door of that building up ahead? 

She looked around. There was a platform she was standing on that looked a lot like Shenron's back, only silver, and with a spiked border on either side of the walkway. Dark yellow clouds lined the...ground? was there ground?...in each direction, right up to and past the horizon. Was this building all there was up here? 

Then she looked up the line in front of her, and then noticed something she hadn't before. Something over everyone's heads. 

Halos. 

Oh, no. 

No. 

_No_. 

She couldn't be...dead. 

The second the word crossed her mind she felt her blood run cold. If she was dead, and in a _fucking line_ , there could only be one thing at the other end of it. 

It moved slowly, but she did finally get into the building. 

The largest man she'd ever seen, more than three times the size of King Cold (and that was a surprise), sat behind a desk, thumbing through some kind of book. A pot of flowers was on one side as a sort of nod to decoration, but everything else she couldn't see. 

Her legs were shaking when she got to the front of the line. 

"Who--who are you?" she asked. 

"King Yemma. I judge the dead," he said a bit brusquely. "Now let's see, you're..." 

He flipped through his book. 

"Kale," she said. "I lived--live on Earth, I'm married to Krillin." 

"Right, right. Ah, here we are...well!" Yemma exclaimed, "You have a large file here. Let's see...nothing unusual for a saiyan, in the beginning...not that that's a good thing." 

_You knew this was coming_ , Kale thought, _He's going to send you down._

Deep breath. 

They would revive her. Krillin had died three times and still been able to come back. They had the dragon radar, there were dragonballs again. She wouldn't stay dead long. 

But, then...there would still be a wait. She'd still be _there_ for a while. 

Yemma shook his head as he kept looking. 

"It...doesn't look good, does it?" she questioned. 

"No. It doesn't," he replied, "I can recall many inhabitants from the planets razed, listed here--I receive notes every time a planet is cleared, you see, as you and the other soldiers of the PTO would do. There are other sins, of course, but that is the primary one, the one that seals my decision." 

Billions of lives she'd ended. And now those deaths were coming back to bite her. 

She shut her eyes, and tried to keep her voice from shaking as she spoke. "You're going to send me down, aren't you? There's nothing I can do to change what's on that paper?" 

"You did try to turn things around at the end, but frankly, it's not enough." 

She tried to say she hadn't wanted to end those lives, not when Frieza had made a mess of her. He'd ordered her to. She had to. 

The words choked themselves in her throat rather than be party to such a lie. 

She knew better. 

Torment or not...she had enjoyed it. 

Deep breath. 

"I realize that they're probably going to revive you, and you have been useful in battle before when your planet has been threatened. Against Cell, for example, and Frieza, just before the end. And I see that you've tried to help rebuild your world, after he was defeated. So yes--I will send you to hell, but you're going to be allowed to keep your body." 

"There's really nothing...?" 

"The only way for you to avoid hell permanently--since you will go there, regardless of what you do with the rest of your life," Yemma said, "Is for you to repent of your sins." 

"I can do that--" 

He cut her off, "--and if you do that, we will send you to your next life. Where, hopefully, you will be better than you have been here." 

"I...what?" 

No Krillin. No Marron. They would go to heaven, she knew--they were both the kindest, the gentlest people. They wouldn't have to worry about going south. 

But they'd be above, without her. She would never, ever see them again after death. 

"I can't do that. My--my husband, my daughter, they need me." 

Yemma sighed, and reached for one of his stamps. 

From head to toe, she was trembling. 

Hell meant something worse than death. 

It meant _him_. 

_But you knew, didn't you? You always knew. That you'd be sent down. That you'd see him again_. 

"I'm sorry," Yemma said. 

He brought the stamp down on her file. 

Kale blinked, and was gone again. 

* * *

The air was acrid, and thick. She coughed, and stumbled, then realized she was being shoved. She'd gone from standing in an open room to being in a thick crowd. 

"Keep it moving," someone nearby called out. 

Another ogre, this one big and blue. He had a big club and was prodding anyone on the outside of the line with it if they stopped. "You can rest when you're away from the entrance. You can't clog it up, this isn't a pipe." 

Kale shoved the person in front of her, and jetted into flight. She half-expected the ogre to say something, but he didn't. 

Deep breath. 

She looked around as she went higher. Every direction looked roughly the same. It was rocky, barren, lifeless save for its inhabitants. So she chose a random direction--south--and flew that way. More rocks, cliffs, and what she at first took to be ponds and lakes--but when she went down to test them, they turned out to be blood. 

_Do what you know you have to_ , came the thought, _You know he'll be here soon_. 

She expected a fight, to be honest, but there were only two--nameless, meaningless. She landed for rest, and they emerged, only to slink away when she struck them hard across the face. Broken their jaws, most likely too. 

But who cared? 

She was in hell. There was no lower to go. 

There didn't seem to be any kind of sun here, or a moon--she knew time had to be passing. It had to be past dinnertime on Earth. But strangely, she didn't feel the least bit hungry, or thirsty. 

The only thing she felt was tired. 

_Just wait_. 

Kale found a cave, high up in some particularly steep cliff face. It went back a little ways, maybe twenty feet. Desperate for a hiding place, a place to lay her head, she went in, all the way to the back. 

As she sat down, the thoughts came crawling out. 

_You knew this would happen. You always knew_. 

Before, she would have tried to fight them. But there was no point. Not here. Not now. 

_What is there to be afraid of, now that you know_? 

It set her trembling again. There was no escape here. She would live again, but here, soon... 

_I'm so afraid_

She didn't know how long she sat there like that, fear coursing through every vein. He would be here, and then...and then... 

...and she would have to suffer it again, later, she knew. She'd written her own end in life, and no matter what she did in penance, there would be no escaping it in death. 

He wouldn't let her go. 

Never. 

And then, like all the times before, she broke... 

...and cried herself to sleep. 

* * *

Kale stirred, and shifted. 

There was something soft on her left cheek, something that stroked downward. For the moment, she was comfortable. For the moment, she was safe, beyond the reach of fear. 

Her eyes still closed, she reached up for it. 

A hand. It seemed to push her hand aside, to keep stroking her face. 

Her heart began to race, but there was nothing else she could do. Time to face the music. 

Kale opened her eyes... 

...and there he was, just as she had feared. 

Frieza was seated there, halo over his head, holding her as she'd slept. 

Smiling smugly down at her. 

Something new cut through it all--the worry, the terror, the sorrow. 

Relief. 

She couldn't get away from him, but... 

...but now, there was nothing more to fear.


	10. Old Salt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It can go no lower than this.

### Old Salt

It was just insurance, that was all. 

To make sure that if he died, he did not do it alone. Call it a gamble, perhaps. Had he won, he would have wished her back, and that would have been that. 

He had indeed lost--admittedly he was fatigued from his fight with her. And he may have angered Vegeta further...but Vegeta was always angry. He came there determined to end things. Not like the other monkey, the other one would have given him a second and a third chance. 

But not Vegeta. 

Never Vegeta. 

But thankfully, the monkey had waited _just_ long enough to kill him, for him to hear Krillin begging Beerus' attendant for help. Help in getting to Namek quickly, to retrieve the dragonballs there. 

"It's only been six months, and we can't wish her back with ours..." 

What the idiot dwarf said next, though... 

He cursed and screamed at that big red fool before he was sent back to hell, but he went feeling better than he had the first time he was there. The bug would not be able to fuck him again. The bug would never be able to fuck him again. What divine justice he would be able to dole out, now that he was stronger, now that he was safe. 

Then there was the matter of his dear little Calla... 

Frieza had learned from the bug about being able to sense energy--in fact, Cell had taught him how to. Said it made things more interesting in finding him--"If you can sense me coming, you'll hide and you'll run and I'll have to chase you down. Won't that be exciting?" 

He'd taken the lesson, and not until now was he at all happy about it. Because now, he could sense her. It was not hard at all, really, when her power level was well above most in hell. And, he was willing to wager, she did not want to be around the others. She had to know that being in hell meant he would find her, and either wanted to wait for him, or be left in peace until he _did_ find her. 

It didn't take him long at all. That little cave, far from the reach of anyone who could not fly, would have kept her away from most prying eyes, but not his. 

Never his. 

Frieza entered the cave and found her at the back; she was seated and leaning against the wall...with tearstains around her eyes. 

Poor broken little lamb. She was deathly afraid, was she not? He would have to fix that for her. 

He slowly edged himself beneath her, reveling in the warmth of her body, the sensation of touch he was in control of. 

And there he lay, sleeping for a short while himself--but on waking, and finding her still asleep, began to stroke her face. How soft her skin was, how clear...and he wondered, already, if she was still the same all the way down. 

Frieza so wanted to pounce while she was asleep, but no--he had time to wait. He _had_ to wait, to heighten the surprise, to shock her immediately, so that she would fight him less. 

And then, then she woke...her hand moved up towards his, and he batted it off. 

His Calla's eyes went wide in fear as they opened, and she tried to look away. But he gently turned her face back towards his, and she began to shake. 

* * *

Kale could do nothing but shake. He wouldn't let her look away, however hard she tried. 

"Closing your eyes won't change anything," he said softly, "I should know." 

He was talking, at least. If he was doing that he wasn't doing worse things. 

"I don't want to go back," she said quickly, sitting up straight, "I--I can't go back, they'll--" 

If she went back, she would be Calla again. And if she was Calla again, Krillin--the others-- 

"My dear, you are in hell. Does it really matter what they think?" 

"They're going to wish me back," she said desperately. 

"But not right away," Frieza said, coating every word in saccharine sweetness, "I imagine you're thinking of Whis, aren't you? He taught you to control that Super Saiyan God, perhaps?" 

Silence. But he knew he was right. 

"And because you have spent so much time with him, you think he would lend his speed to your friends, to get to New Namek? To get their dragonballs?" 

He looked so smug, so self-satisfied. What did he know? What had happened? 

Kale froze in place when Frieza reached down, for the bottom of her armor, and pulled the set up and over her head. He tossed it aside, and then went on. 

"I'm afraid that won't be happening." 

Shock, puzzlement, terror--all crossed her face, and he felt a rush of elation. She was afraid, afraid of _him_ , and all was falling into place. All was as it should be, and he had only to move carefully to keep it that way. 

"They are going to New Namek, but they're doing it without his help. It seems that Lord Beerus had...other things to do, and did not want his servant wasting time ferrying Earthlings around." 

He turned her ever so slightly, then leaned forward and pressed his lips to her neck. Then he moved higher, kissing a spot just below her jaw. 

"Tell me, my dear, how long will you be waiting?" 

Still trembling, she answered, "Two...two months." 

At least. The last time they went it had taken two and a half--two months and a few days to get there, and the rest to gather the dragonballs to make their wishes. 

Two months she would be left with him. Two months she would be at his mercy. She could fight him-- 

"Come, pet, it's cold in here, and I want to stay warm," he whispered, breath warming the side of her neck. He pulled her back into his lap, her back to his chest, with her legs splayed out. 

"Don't--" 

She started to bring her knees up, but he brought his feet over hers, gripping them and moving them outward--and kept her legs open. 

"Don't fight me, pet. I won't hurt you unless you make me." He kept his tone sweet, and his touch gentle. "I don't want to hurt you." 

When his hands moved south, she tried to move away, to no avail. 

"We're in hell now, my dear Calla. There are no secrets here. What was his is mine now." 

Kale tensed, bracing herself against the pain to come. It wasn't a question of if, but when. 

The right hand slipped down--underneath the bottom half of the underarmor suit. 

She stiffened. He'd never-- 

"Does your husband do this for you?" he whispered. "Oh, I remember. He _did_." 

Lower still; she felt him growl when his fingers sank into her. 

"It's been so long, pet. So very, very long..." 

_I'm not here_ , she thought, keeping her eyes tightly closed, _I'm at home, hallucinating, because I didn't take my pill. It's not really him. He's not really there_. 

That was Krillin behind her. She was just hearing the voice wrong. 

He kept moving, softly thrusting with his slender fingers, holding her still as the euphoria over her powerlessness continued to rise. Slowly. He had to be slow, no matter how quickly he wanted to have her. 

There was no hurry, after all. He had two months to spend with her. 

It was almost relaxing; all he had to do was restrain her, move his hand, and wait. And his patience was paying off, it looked like. When he felt her right hand on his arm, felt her nails clenching tightly at his skin... 

"Relax, my dear. This won't hurt at all." 

Silence. 

Any second now, he'd start. He'd strike her, burn her, break a bone. He'd do something, and then it would all start again. Two months with this man was all that was needed to make this hell a torment. 

But all he did was trail the fingertips of his left hand in little circles on her skin, before moving up to trace her lips. 

"I can feel your breathing," he said. "You're so close." 

"Why?" 

It was all she could get out, with his hand working on her like it was. 

But he didn't answer. 

Then, suddenly she took in a deep gasp, her right hand gripped at his arm so tightly she nearly drew blood, and he--merely sat there, while her body trembled in his arms. 

"I told you, didn't I?" he asked, cleaning his hand on her thigh, "I don't want to hurt you." 

Silence. 

"That doesn't mean there aren't others who won't. We may be stronger...but we do have to sleep at some point. Be a good girl, and you will not need to worry about them."


End file.
